Hi Bill,
I haven't tried any of those although this summer, just ending in New Zealand, my favourite was a Rose made from Pinot Noir by a producer called Schubert in the Martinborough region at the bottom of the North Island.
Cheers,
Sue

I had "Other (discuss)" for my last option, but it didn't show. I might have screwed something up. If you want to change the poll to add other, please do -there might be more disscussion generated. I'm not sure if I can go back and edit it.

Bill Hooper wrote:I had "Other (discuss)" for my last option, but it didn't show. I might have screwed something up. If you want to change the poll to add other, please do -there might be more disscussion generated. I'm not sure if I can go back and edit it.

We're all learning this software together, Bill, including me. I thought I had set the parameters to allow polls with up to 10 questions. I'll check that.

It's still a good poll, anyway ... "other" isn't really necessary because folks can do just as I did ... post a reply.

Sue Courtney wrote:Hi Bill, I haven't tried any of those although this summer, just ending in New Zealand, Sue

Sue, after almost 10 years of posting here on the old then new then the reincarneted WLDG, I am constantly amazed at the rapacity of time. It seems that your spring and our autumn was just beginning. Now our winter is drawing to a close and your autumn is upon you. I hope you have a mild but yet red wine inspiring winter in the coming months.

Tondonia and Tempier are in a separate category, I think--the ageworthy, just-happen-to-be-pink wines. So perhaps the more apropos questions is, what's the best freshfreshfresh summer rose. For me, it has to be Domaine Sorin Cotes de Provence. Mostly mourvedre, and (dare I say it) a bit serious, but still fresh, fruity and refreshing enough to please the non-geeks. And it doesn't have the problem of a lot (perhaps even the majority) of Sud roses--that little bit of alcohol peeking out the back of the finish.

It is getting to be rose time. If I had to pick I would go with Tempier but my approach is to wait until the current vintage comes in, buy anything between $10-15 from the south of France and then just come home on a hot summer night and wolf it down while sitting in the back yard. I do not spend a lot of time thinking about rose, just enjoying it. Can't drink it in the winter, a definite seasonal wine.
Walt

I tend to find different favorites each year. Last year was Clos Roche Blanche's 2004 - lovely, melony and slightly bitter at the death. I enjoyed that a great deal.

The biggest problem for me is finding a quality rosé with a modest alcohol level. Rosés seem to easily show unpleasant alcohol to my palate, particularly with food. As a result, most of the ones I enjoy come from the Loire.

The Lopez de Heredia is a wild wine, which I'm glad I've had the fortune to try on a couple of occassions (both '95 vintage IIRC), but I don't know that I'll be a big buyer of that one. Very unusual, complex, but not necessarily pleasant flavors and aromas. Of course, as I'm reminiscing about it, I'm starting to crave some (perhaps that's because I gave up wine for Lent . . .).

I chose the Domaine Mordoree Tavel, and the Bandol is awfully awfully fine too, but probably the ones that intrigued me the most last year were not on the list. One is the 2004 Forte Canto Rosato, a nice Negroamaro Salento from Lecce, and another is the '04 Bergevin Lane Rose, a blend of who-knows-what? The Forte Canto was very crisp, with tangerine on the palate, and a tremendously viscous mouthfeel. The Bergevin Lane was elegant beyond belief. I had a couple bottles open at once after a party last summer and it took me four days to finish them. They just kept getting better and better, sitting in the fridge. How many rose's can you say that about? I'm looking forward to the '05 vintage of that one, although I expect it to be hard to get.

Also last fall I tasted a barrel sample of Dunham's rose that should be out soon. It was very light-colored, and I'll be interested to try that too.